[Lunabean]

Hey guys,
Most of you probably know by now, as many of you were on our mass e-mail list (if you weren't, it just means I didn't recognize your e-mail at first glance when making the list), we had quite a big week last week. The results go by the name of Beatrice Rose:



Not sure why we kept it a secret. Scared we were going to jinx it, most likely. It's all a wonderful, but scary, experience...and don't even get me started on child birth. :)

[kamikaze]

Congratulations!!!

This is such exciting news. ^_^

[Gold_2]

wow! congrats! yeah, count me as one of those who didn't even know you were prego. anyways, you've prolly got a few more months of video gaming left, so get it while its good. :jester:

[KilGrey]

I was sooo shocked when Liz told me! I'm so happy for you guys! And yay for having a girl! Girls are far cooler than boys. =P I love her name, so pretty and classic. Did you do the birth naturally? I don't know why that though scares the ever loving crap out of me. :crying2: I'm going to need a double dose of epidural for that...preferably from the first moment I feel a twinge of pain until the kid is 18 but we'll see. ;) How are the Luna, Quai and the puppy reacting? I guess when I was born my moms cat would sit on the dresser next to my crib and just stare at me. Probably plotting away to crawl in and steal my breath. ;)

Anyhoo, congrats on the Little 'Bean!

[/\/+r0p`/]

I didn't know you were pregnant, but when I got the email I was pretty damn excited.

Congrats!

[NickT]

Wow.. congratulations. :smile:

[Lunabean]

KilGrey, on Jul 1 2008, 07:26 PM, said:

I was sooo shocked when Liz told me! I'm so happy for you guys! And yay for having a girl! Girls are far cooler than boys. =P I love her name, so pretty and classic. Did you do the birth naturally? I don't know why that though scares the ever loving crap out of me. :crying2: I'm going to need a double dose of epidural for that...preferably from the first moment I feel a twinge of pain until the kid is 18 but we'll see. ;) How are the Luna, Quai and the puppy reacting? I guess when I was born my moms cat would sit on the dresser next to my crib and just stare at me. Probably plotting away to crawl in and steal my breath. ;)

Anyhoo, congrats on the Little 'Bean!

Ali had an epidural, which went great (took away the pain, but still allowed her to have her motor skills). It still kind of freaks her out that our little Bea came out of her...me too. She is super happy to no longer be pregnant, mainly because she no longer has to pee every 5 minutes, can put on her own shoes, and can eat sushi again.

So yeah, all is going well. We're taking a bit of a break from work, but we're still checking in on the daily activities of lunabean.

As far as the cats (the puppy we had to give up 24 hours after we got her because of allergies...which was soooo sad, but at least it was only 24 hours, so she had no problem getting adopted) go, well, luna is curious and will jump up on the top of the chair when Ali is feeding and will sniff the baby's head (mmm...brains). Quai is cool as a cucumber and just thinks that another cat has moved in. He's a bit territorial with a few of the chairs in the house, but doesn't seem to want to attack her. We're trying to give both cats lots of attention so that they don't become jealous.

-Jer

[the Chris]

she's adorable, congratulations

[kingdompunk]

Aww, this is great news! Congratulations!

[Lunabean]

KilGrey, on Jul 1 2008, 06:26 PM, said:

I was sooo shocked when Liz told me! I'm so happy for you guys! And yay for having a girl! Girls are far cooler than boys. =P I love her name, so pretty and classic. Did you do the birth naturally? I don't know why that though scares the ever loving crap out of me. :crying2: I'm going to need a double dose of epidural for that...preferably from the first moment I feel a twinge of pain until the kid is 18 but we'll see. ;) How are the Luna, Quai and the puppy reacting? I guess when I was born my moms cat would sit on the dresser next to my crib and just stare at me. Probably plotting away to crawl in and steal my breath. ;)

Anyhoo, congrats on the Little 'Bean!

Here's the deal with child birth. You are scared to death of it until about 8 1/2 months, at which point you become so frikin' uncomfortable, you'd be willing to let your doctor cut it out with an axe.

I was not afraid of asking for all of the drugs I could take. I loved my doctor's attitude of "Hey, what's the point of all of these drugs if we don't take advantage of them?". Still, there was pain, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. You're allowed to take two doses of the pain killing narcotic, which only last an hour or so each, so you have to time those out. And, the truth is, they don't really kill the pain. What they do do, though, is make you so warm and fuzzy and loopy that you don't care about the pain. As the second one is wearing off, it's epidural time. And the epidural man is the greatest person on the planet. It's just amazing to see that you're having these major contractions (via the monitors), but you can't feel a thing. Lovely.

As push time came, there was a lot of painful pressure (epidurals don't kill the pressure), but, you're so close, you can deal. Then, once again, what you thought would be the scariest and most disturbing thing of your life (giving birth), isn't really that bad. As everyone (doctors included) will eventually tell you, pushing is like moving a ten pound bowel movement after being constipated for three weeks. It's not the most comfortable process, but it really is a relief when comparing it to just lying there dealing with the pain of contractions.

Anyway, that's my story of child birth. Hope you all enjoyed. ;)

[NickT]

Quote

What they do do, though, is make you so warm and fuzzy and loopy that you don't care about the pain.

Sounds like you got through it pretty good.

[Gold_2]

my wife agrees that the Epiguy is the world's greatest person. :laugh:

[Erin]

OMG!! I had no idea you were expecting!!

CONGRATULATIONS!! She will bring you so much joy, but will also make you wonder how you have any hair left on your head when she gets through the Terrible Twos 'cos you'll want to Grill it out on a daily basis. Don't get me started on the F**kin' Fives. Ugh.

In the next few weeks, you'll be so amazed at what she learns and how much she changes and grows. You'll almost see and hear the cogs turning when she's thinking about something. They really understand more than some people think. I have a friend who did the baby sign-language course for her daughter, and she said it just eliminated any confusion as to what the baby's needs were, and they were able to do what it was she needed right away.

Advice: Get baby tylenol, gripe water, a few packs of diapers in bigger sizes that you think you'll need (because at some point she'll fit a newborn size in the morning, and by afternoon they won't fit her!), the poison control centre number by the phone, and some of the baby cereal and jarred fruit or vegetables.. .she will very suddenly be not satisfied after feeding and need something solid! I'd also say to get a really good carseat as if you don't you'll be having to buy next sizes up and it'll cost you more than just getting a good one. Also a decent stroller that will fit her up to age 3 or 4--- there will be festivals and whatnot that you'll want to go to, and it's s lot for a little one to take...she'll be able to ride around, sleep, whatever. I had a good stroller and I had one of the umbrella kind; the umbrella one killed my back as the handles were a weird height---I ended up using the big one for everything! I often walked over to the grocery store with her and we'd explore all the colours and smells there and pick out things for supper--- funny sidenote: Emma would not eat bananas UNLESS we were in Safeway, so I would buy her one...to this day she calls Safeway The Banana Store.

I'm just so excited and happy for you both!! Big huge CONGRATS!!

[NewYorkerNick]

Wow, that was a pretty big secret. Congrats guys! Adorable.

[Trancemaster]

Hey guys, sorry I'm late to the party. Big congratulations, and well done on keeping it soo secret! Guess this means its time to give up video games then?

[Lunabean]

Trancemaster, on Jul 7 2008, 01:10 PM, said:

Hey guys, sorry I'm late to the party. Big congratulations, and well done on keeping it soo secret! Guess this means its time to give up video games then?

Hey thanks.

Video games are our job and our livelihood. We're not giving them up unless somebody offers us vast sums of money. We're just taking a bit of a break from writing guides and then we'll be back at it.

-Jer

[RPG]

dear god. as per everyone else, congrats!
you guys will rule as parentals, no diggity.

[Weeds]

congratulations! shes beautiful. did jer cut the cord? i did, twice. ;)

edit: oh, and did you guys film the birth?

[Lunabean]

Weeds, on Jul 21 2008, 07:40 PM, said:

congratulations! shes beautiful. did jer cut the cord? i did, twice. ;)

edit: oh, and did you guys film the birth?

No and no. Jer stuck by my head. There are just some things I'd rather my hubby not see/ :)

[/\/+r0p`/]

Lunabean, on Jul 22 2008, 12:51 AM, said:

Weeds, on Jul 21 2008, 07:40 PM, said:

congratulations! shes beautiful. did jer cut the cord? i did, twice. ;)

edit: oh, and did you guys film the birth?

No and no. Jer stuck by my head. There are just some things I'd rather my hubby not see/ :)

But now you don't have a video to embarrass your daughter sixteen years from now when she brings home her first boyfriend.